Thank you so much! I have seen (and smelled) the real Begonia odorata before. To my nose, it had a pleasant, mild sweet scent and I enjoyed the simple white flowers.

Years ago I grew ‘John Smith’ from White Flower Farm and was surprised by its heady fruity fragrance. That is why I was excited to see these “Odorata“ bulbs in local garden centers . About all I know about them is that they were grown/hybridized in Belgium and are being sold by Dutch bulb companies with distribution in the US and UK.

It looks like Golden State Bulb sold the rights and genetic materials to its entire begonia line a year or two ago. As such, it appears that the Scentiment hybrids are no longer available.

I did see the “Odorosa” begonias in my online searches. I can’t tell if these are same as what are labeled as “Odorata” or if they are an entirely different line.

In any case, I bought the yellow and the red “Odorata“ begonias to try out. They are sold in packages of two bulbs, each about 1.5-2 inches in diameter. They are sprouting vigorously but likely won’t bloom until later this summer because of the late start.

Here is an image of the package they come in. It states “Grown in Belgium” on the back:

Let us know how it works out for you. Tuberous are mainly treated as annuals here.

I tried the J&P Scentsation or Scentiment or whatever cute name they gave it so long ago. Granted it has a slight scent but not enough to go gaga over. Same for the species odorata.

So many other intensely aromatic plants to buy/acquire than begonias - HAHA! From Oriental lilies, certain roses, elderberry, honeysuckle, jasmine, gardenia, hyacinth, and so many more. Well there is the other end of the spectrum too such as the voodoo lilies (Amorphophallus).

That’s a good point about so many other fragrant plants to choose from. But if I am confronted with a non-fragrant and a fragrant version of the same plant, I will choose the scented one every time. Call me a sucker. Lol.

Just out of curiosity, when you were growing the Scentiment begonias (or similar), were you growing outdoors? The reason I ask is because, years ago, when I grew ‘John Smith’, it was in a sunny southeast window. It was an enormous plant that grew to almost shrublike proportions. The fragrance was surprisingly strong and pleasant. I suspect that exposing the flowers to wind, sun and natural air currents outdoors might diminish the fragrance since the volatile oils responsible for the fragrance will evaporate almost as fast as they can be produced.

From reading this interesting blog post by Andy Snow, who was a begonia hybridizer for Golden State, it seems as though these selections were all chosen in greenhouse settings, which I assume also might mean reduced airflow compared to outdoors:

http://begoniafields.blogspot.com/2012/07/breeding-scent-in-tuberous-begonias.html?m=1

Yes, grown outdoors. Seemed pointless to grow them indoors during the six months of frost free temps.

My wife is not too happy if I grow much in the house so I occupy most of the basement in winter months.

This is what I had last year from Sam's Club. Came back stronger than the year I bought it but haven't seen a thing this year. UGH!

Just easier to grow things that do well here and wait for new hybrids to prove themselves.

Years ago, I had grown 'Scentiment' in a solarium and the fragrance was rather substantial and delicious! Now, this year, I have 'Angelique' and 'Pink Delight' and I hope they please!

FrozeBudd,

Thank you for the information. Please report back on fragrance and performance of ‘Angelique’ and ‘Pink Delight’ when they start blooming for you.

I contacted Dümmen Orange, the Dutch company that bought the rights to the Scentiment series from Golden State Bulb. They plan on re-releasing ‘Scentiment Sunrise’ and ‘Scentiment Just Peachy’ for the 2020 growing season.

I would also like to see more of the Fragrant Falls and Sweet Spice series available in the States too.

Chris, ‘Angelique’ has now produced several blooms and I'm not terribly impressed with their informal kinda messy pom pom centers, I like begonias to be decently nicely shaped. When I stick my nose into them, I get a hit of a pleasant rose / citrus fragrance. Now, If they were better looking flowers, I'd be pleased enough, though as such, I probably won't bother keeping the thing over the winter.

'Pink Delight' came mislabeled, instead I got a sturdy upright plant with large non fragrant pink blooms ... sooo, my excitiment for these fragrant begonias was a bust for the year!

FrozeBudd,

Awesome! Thank you for the great information. All of my tuberous begonias suffered a bit in the recent heatwave, but all are flowering or about to flower. I was able to acquire a few more varieties locally.

‘Sunny Dream’ (Odorata Series): Very compact plant so far with light yellow blossoms tinged rose-pink on the outer petals. Fragrance is fresh citrus. The blooms definitely have informal pompon centers.

‘Pink Delight’ (Odorata Series): First bloom open was paler pink than I expected and it also had that informal pompon center, but the fragrance is beautifully roselike.

‘Red Glory’ (Odorata Series): These are just starting to open their first buds, but also look like the blooms will be the same messy shape. However, my plants might be mislabeled since the opening buds are bright orange.

‘Fragrant Falls Orange’: I found these at a local nursery started in pots and I have been very pleased. Beautiful dark orange blooms with a ruffled shape that reminds me of certain camellias. Fragrance is very strong and wafts when the air is still. It reminds me of roses with undertones of citrus and ripe nectarines. This is one I would definitely like to overwinter!

’Fragrant Falls Lemon’: These have larger blooms with much better shape compared to ‘Sunny Dream’. The fragrance is also stronger and nicer, being a pure citrus-rose scent. I like this plant a lot but it melted in the heatwave. If it can recover, I will definitely try to save it over winter. Otherwise, it is one I will try to find again next spring.

‘Fragrant Falls Peach’: This one has smaller blooms compared to the orange and yellow, and fragrance is also weaker. This one held up

to the heat better than the other two varieties, so I am hoping it will give a good fall display and have increased fragrance in the cooler late summer temperatures.

So far, ‘Fragrant Falls Orange’ and ‘Fragrant Falls Lemon’ are my top two favorites for scent and looks. The Odorata Series, while fun and pretty, seem to not be of the same caliber.

Have been meaning to get back to this thread! Chris, much appreciate your review and seems that 'Fragrant' series is superior to others and also they continue to update and improve them. I'm going to ask that my local greenhouse to attempt to bring some of these in, particularly ‘Fragrant Falls Orange’ and ‘Fragrant Falls Lemon’.

I think I'll end up keeping ‘Angelique’, fragrance is moderate and bloom production good.

Thanks again for the review!